Charlie the Chicken
In one of the group I facilitate for there are a few boys about 16-17 years old with autism. They are fairly low functioning and less verbal. I taught them a game called Charlie the Chicken where you stand in a circle and pass the chicken behind your back while singing "Charlie the chicken, keep it moving, keep it moving" over and over again and the person in the middle tries to figure out who has the chicken. The game is a struggle with this group, but they love it! These boys are adorable, and now whenever they see me anywhere around camp they get super excited and start singing "Charlie the chicken keep it moving keep it moving" and dancing. You can barely understand what they are saying, but to me it sounds beautiful.
Treasure Hunt
With each group that comes to challenge I make an FVC (full value contract) which includes their expectations while at challenge and what they want to work on improving. Most groups include following directions, listening, being respectful, teamwork, etc. For my mountain boys we are focusing on following directions, so I drew a treasure map and pulled it out the next time they came to challenge. They are supposed to follow my directions (which includes listening, paying attention, and participating) in order to follow the map and make it to the big X which is high ropes, and ultimately good behavior. They LOVED it! I couldn't believe how much they actually liked it and how effective it is! Every time I talk about the map they all pay attention and start listening because they want to continue on to high ropes so badly. Success :)
...Days until....
My man James. He is the best! He is about 17 years old and is lower functioning, but is fairly verbal. His favorite thing to do is count the days. He counts how many days he has left at camp at least 10 times for me during each challenge period. He follows the same script every time and cannot be interrupted in the middle. The script goes like this:
one, two, three, four, five, six... (counting the days on his fingers until he reaches the right amount of days left) days until....pauses until I respond (my response underlined) until what?...until mom comes on the....on what day?...on the....on the 5th (if I get it wrong he says no until I get it right)...what?...the 5th...excuse me? what?...the 5th...yeah. and takes me....where will she take you?...home! and then I go to the shore for....for how long?...for 3 weeks! and then....and then what?...and then I come home on the 27th. and then...then what James?...then I go to New Hampshire...who is in New Hampshire?...Grandpa!!
This gets repeated word for word time and time again. The only thing that changes is the number of days until mom comes. Its hilarious!!
Free Fall
On a different note, there are many crazy things that happen here. Such as one of my campers being bored and frustrated (while I was dealing with another issue and who knows where the other counselors were) and deciding that it would be a good idea to jump off the deck...well that is a 12 ft drop. What the? why is that a good idea?? consequences followed that action. Luckily he didn't injure himself!
Oh really? Haven't heard that one before...
Nathan. Good old Nathan. Love the kid, but its a struggle. He is the camper that sits next to me at meals and drools all over the place and spills half the food he tries to eat. (I love shower time every night!) He has an obsession with crushing the milk cartons, so I have to take them away. Somehow he manages to still find them and has started sitting on them. Why? because he wanted to...who knows. Anyways, another obsession of his is history, planes, and boats. I have heard the story of the titanic at least 100 times this week. I don't know if he forgets that he told me already, or if he just thinks I would benefit from hearing it again, but either way he feels the need to tell me about it every chance he gets. So if any of you want to know more about the titanic, come to this girl! I know ALL about it.
Ahoy Matey
One of the low ropes elements is called the whale watch. It is a big plank of boards that is balanced in the middle. The challenges we give them will vary, but ultimately they are to balance the whole team on the board in various locations without it touching the ground. We call it our ship and they must ask the captain (me) if they may enter my ship before getting on. This is a fun and effective way to make sure no one is getting their toes smashed and keeping order. Dylan, a 12 year old boy with special needs, was in one of my groups this last week. He has a super high pitched voice and is a space cadet. He is wanders, talks to himself, and comes up with the most hilarious things to say. When it was his turn to get on the 'ship' he approached and I asked him "okay dylan, what do you ask me?" and he looks at me for a second, then happily says "Ahoy Matey!" haha well after I stopped laughing I responded and he then proceeded to tell me how much he likes my ship in pirate language. Finally he told me he would like to enter the ship, and that was close enough so I let him on.
Notes
A few of the harder kids at camp have been struggling with behaving (big surprise) so I decided to use a little trickery. I told them that I would write them a note, but I would only give it to them if they wrote me a note in exchange. This has two purposes, one it is creating a bond with the kid, and two it keeps them occupied and quiet for a little. I was expecting goofy notes and was honestly expecting them to have inappropriate content. Well to my surprise, they weren't like that at all! They surprised me and told me that they wished they could spend more time with me and how much they liked challenge with me. It was heart warming. One of the notes (picture below) was just one line, but it needed no more. Precious moments!
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| Dear Natili You are my best friend |
Is That Even Possible?
One morning began a little different than the rest. One of our 11 year old campers who is nonverbal and has a problem scratching, biting, and pinching when he gets upset (so you keep your distance) got a little frustrated while using the bathroom. This is what I found.
I didn't even know that was possible!!! I envisioned him karate kicking the toilet and it shattering or something. It was terrifying, but at the same time I couldn't stop laughing! That's kind of how things go here, its so ridiculous that its comical! What actually happened was he yanked the toilet off the wall and the lid of the tank fell forward landing on the perfect spot on the seat to shatter the bowl. Incredible!
Vampire or Not?
Ivan. My man Ivan. He is one of the most difficult campers here at camp. He is also in my bunk. He has a reputation...when I arrived I heard all the returners saying " oh Ivan is coming back?? good luck to his counselors" and stuff like that. He is a 14 year old challenge. He has a raspy voice that is incapable of being anything less than a yell. Well lucky me, I get to work with Ivan one on one because he wont respond to anyone but me. As the days progress I learn he has his heart set on marrying me, and is constantly telling me I am the prettiest counselor at camp and that I have very pretty eyes. He is adorable. But also a pain. One day he randomly handed me a piece of paper and said I needed to take the quiz and return it to him. Part two followed the next day. The quiz was to find out if I am a vampire or not...Here are the questions:
Have you noticed you have sharp teeth?
Do you eat people and/or meat a lot?
Do you like garlic?
Do you go to church?
Do you love the dark more than the light?
Have you ever killed someone? Don't lie
Have you ever had blood before?
Do you like crosses?
Do you love black and red?
Do you like bats/are you one?
Can you fly/teleport?
How old are you?
Do you know you are pale?
Off topic questions:
Has any boy ever told you that you are pretty?
Do you love me?
The results............I am a vampire human!! He is convinced I am a vampire ha! Oh these kids, gotta love 'em.
